Traders decide not to sell mutton till lockdown ends

TNN | Apr 3, 2020, 04.25 AM IST

Madurai: Mutton traders in the city have decided to refrain from selling meat till April 14, as a measure to prevent the spread of Covid-19 among the community. The decision comes at a time when the government has been promoting that it is safe to consume meat during this crisis period.

Meat shops witnessed large crowds in areas like Anna Nagar, Karimedu, Kulamangalam during the weekends throwing caution to the winds. This posed a big challenge for the district administration.

On Thursday, members of the Madurai City Mutton Retail Merchants Association, submitted a petition to the district collector Dr T G Vinay announcing their move to refrain from selling meat from March 31 to April 14 or till further notice from the government.

President of the association, S Muthukrishnan said that the slaughter house in Nelpettai had been closed for the past three days. Slaughtering in open places or near the shops was not allowed. Hence, they had difficulty in slaughtering.

There was also the danger of bad meat coming into the market as a result, hence they had taken the decision in the welfare of the public.

Also, most goats for slaughtering in the city came from the other districts including Virudhunagar and there was difficulty in transporting animals, he added.